So Saturday morning, I started early.
Insomnia and body aches have their merits.
Cut back the hedge as reported before.
Alarm set for 09.20 to remind me to lock up and head out to @Johnnybravo to check out his new machine shop and collect the mixer he had offered me.
35 minute unencumbered drive was the longest drive I have done in 8 weeks, and showed just what a pleasant and comfortable drive this Galaxy offers.
Johnnybravo getting on with the whole social distance thing after the House Elf helped him move the mixer from his Berlingo van to the Galaxy, leaving me to capture the load on film.
Along with the machine came a new replacement fan and cover for the electric motor, part of the “Needs some attention” message, needed some modifying to get to fit.
Had a restricted visit and shop tour with JB and the House Elf, who is both better looking and nicer (not yet jaded by life sucking) than his dad would admit ;-)
Amazing how much efficiency they have managed to bring to the shop through sensible planning and layout, with the Mezzanine level adding another 60% of useable space for machines and of course automotive storage.
Being that they are working alone, against the proverbial clock, we kept it shorter than usual, and I missed out on a coffee and cookies, so after leaving a case of Bud Lights, I headed home where work was not doing itself.
Back home, I carried on with cleaning and clearing up the hedge that I had cut back earlier.
Sally popped over by about 11.30 to help me unload the mixer and plant some sunflowers and green beans she had grown.
So first view of the mixer was not exactly encouraging.
After coffee and cookies with Sally, I started to look at the mixer barrel, and decided that a bucket of gravel and some water would be the way to go.
Messy cement and dismissive use in its previous life as a hire company (that had gone bankrupt) evident around.
Note exposed motor axle on left, that would be needing some attention.
The stand again, showed dismissive use in the past, with cleaning not a priority, ever.
Two hours of running it in various ways with changing content left me with the drum inside looking a lot better.
Lump hammer had to be pulled into service to break out a load of real thick concrete in the bottom nd around the paddles.
At one point when it became obvious that the stones were not progressing, I added some sharp metal edges and chain, which seemed to help, along with the the lump hammer.
And a sobering last thought at this point.
The cost of a new mixer online means the three or more hours it may take to get the machine back to where it will be an asset here when I start mixing and building is time well spent.
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